Awhile back I was speaking with a friend of
mine on a wide variety of subjects concerning the Civil
War, namely poor commanders and how utterly incompetent
some were. As the conversation wore on we came to the
officers that commanded Berdans Sharpshooters, the unit
that we portray in re-enactments. My friend made the
statement that he had no respect at all for the first
regiment's commander, Hiram Berdan, for whom the
sharpshooter regiments were named. This took me aback
quite a bit. I told him that I respected Berdan very much
for his other skills, and if nothing else, just for the
fact that he was considered intelligent enough to get the
position of Colonel. He then stated that the only reason
that he got Colonel was because his friends secured the
position for him. And while this was true of quite a few
officers, I believe that none of these people would have
put someone in a position of power if they didn't believe
that he was capable of doing the job. He stated then that
those other people may not have been responsible people
either, and didn't care whether the other person was
capable of the job.

After pausing, and thinking quite a bit, I
stated that those people were put in their positions by a
higher up commander, and those commanders by even higher
up commanders, and so on, until you get to the president,
who is put in command by the people. So, in my opinion,
even down to the lowest field officer, all officers and
commanders are put into their commands by the people, and
the only fault in that system is that no two men share
the same opinions on what capable is, or what is right,
or on anything for that matter. And if you think on this
a bit, you will realize that this is the very foundation
of America's philosophy, and what makes this country
great.

This brought us to our next topic, loyalty.
The war, in my opinion, was a clash of loyalties.
Different men hold different things in their hearts. This
may not be a new statement to any of you, but it is one
that is so easily overlooked by the historians of the
war. I personally am above all, loyal to the United
States of America, as are a good majority of people are
nowadays. But back in the 19th
century, many people were loyal to their states above all
else, thus the word Union, a word that little thought has
been given to, but meant a great deal. In the 19th
century, the states were bound together by the
government, and the Constitution, a organization and a
document which every one of them had agreed to, and every
one of them had taken as law.

However, when things didn't seem right, and
the government didn't seem to be doing it's job, a number
of states decided to go back on their word, and dissolve
the Union for which they had promised their lives.
Loyalty, and honor were very important back in that time,
as it is now. But the great problem arose with the
question of with what should a man's loyalty lie? The
Civil War answered that question forever. Loyalty, above
all, should lay with the government, and the success of
the United States in the years after the war show that
this is the truth.

Loyalty is the cornerstone of successful
civilization. Whether it be for your commanding officers,
your family, or your country, you must be willing to
follow them with all your heart, and give your greatest
sacrifice for their preservation.